With support from AIDS United, 27 community-based organizations in the U.S. South have developed innovative and effective advocacy projects that protect and advance the health and wellbeing of people living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS throughout the Deep South. With support from the Ford Foundation, AIDS United recently granted $1 million to organizations in the Southern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Washington D.C., AIDS United AmeriCorps members are responding to the recent HIV outbreak in Southeastern Indiana by providing HIV testing and other key services in partnership with the Indiana State Department of Health. Southeastern Indiana, an area with few new HIV diagnoses annually, has confirmed more than 80 new cases this year, with more anticipated. This represents an explosive increase in new HIV diagnoses this year, moving Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to declare a public health emergency.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that it recommends replacing the outdated lifetime blood-donation ban for gay and bisexual men with a one-year deferral period — requiring gay and bisexual men to be celibate for twelve months — before being eligible to donate blood. While removing the lifetime ban is a step forward, even the one-year deferral continues to perpetuate discrimination against gay and bisexual men.

Bristol-Myers Squibb commits $1 million to help AIDS service organizations navigate the new realities of health reform. The investment builds on founding support from Johnson & Johnson that launched the Sector Transformation Initiative at AIDS United in 2012. The Initiative helps HIV/AIDS service organizations integrate with the broader health care system to meet the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) using strategic grants, educational opportunities, and technical assistance.

The largest and longest-running national coalition of community-based HIV/AIDS organizations, the AIDS United Public Policy Committee (PPC) — which covers jurisdictions that include more than two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS — calls for the scale-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. PrEP, a breakthrough in biomedical HIV prevention, involves a once-daily medication that when taken as directed, reduces the risk of HIV infection by upwards of 90%. The PPC commits to raising awareness of and reducing barriers to full scale-up of PrEP as a critically important prevention tool for people faced with substantial risk of HIV infection.

AIDS United hosts congressional briefing to raise awareness about and address the intersection of women, violence and HIV.Today, more than 1 in 3 women in the United States will experience significant physical or sexual violence in their lives, often perpetrated by current or former intimate partners, according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sadly, the rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) and other trauma is even higher among women living with HIV.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 23, 2014) -- AIDSWatch organizers are thrilled to announce The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) as Presenting Sponsor for the two-day AIDSWatch 2015 program. It is the U.S.’ largest constituent-based HIV advocacy event, bringing together hundreds of HIV advocates to Washington, D.C. from all around the country to educate members of Congress about the legislative priorities and resources needed to help bring an end to this epidemic. In tribute to Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy as an activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, ETAF will help fund the event, which is organized by the Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP), AIDS United and the US People Living with HIV Caucus. AIDSWatch 2015 will take place April 13-14.

Vignetta Eugenia Charles, PhD, Senior Vice President for AIDS United, has been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Formed by Executive Order in June 1995, PACHA provides advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies related to HIV prevention, care and research. Members are selected for their particular expertise in, experience with, or knowledge of, matters concerning HIV and AIDS.

To encourage community-based organizations serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) people around the country to incorporate HIV prevention messaging for young gay and bisexual men into their work, AIDS United has launched an Instagram image promotion called “#PrideInPrevention.”